Gold Coast Football Club | SUNS

The Gold Coasts very own AFL side was unofficially born on 31st March 2009, when at the clubs inaugural player launch, AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou took to the stage and announced a consortium bidding for the Gold Coast to become the leagues 17th team (GC17) had been successful in gaining a provisional licence to compete in the AFL from 2011. The attendees were made up of representatives from the community, junior football clubs, local supporters and government organisations including Queensland Premier Anna Bligh, Gold Coast Mayor Ron Clarke and Gold Coast City Councillors.

A critical element of building our football club was establishing and maintaining a community connection. Its promise remains to ensure that the club will have meaningful engagement with the community and our pathway ensures that the Gold Coast Football Club will be owned by its members within a few years.

On July 22, 2010 after an exhaustive search and community consultation, the Gold Coasts nickname, colours and team song were revealed at a gala function at the Southport Sharks Function centre.

The team, wearing the red, gold and blue, would be known as the Gold Coast SUNS.
Gold Coast SUNS Chairman John Witheriff said the Gold Coast community had stood up and been counted when asked to support the GC17 bid launched in April 2008.

I believe the Gold Coast has been given an incredible opportunity and the successful licence bid was for all of us who know an AFL team can succeed on the Gold Coast, he said.

It was a time for celebration but now we continue the hard work required to build the heart and soul of a successful football club. This is another step in our journey to becoming the most exciting sporting club in Australia.

After competing in the Under 18 TAC Cup and VFL in 2009 and 2010 respectively, the SUNS made their AFL debut against Carlton on 2nd April 2011 at the Gabba in Brisbane, with their home ground unavailable due to reconstruction work.

The Gold Coast had to wait until Round 10, 2011 before hosting its first match at home. The SUNS took on the Cats on July 28, in front of a capacity crowd at the AFLs premier venue, Metricon Stadium.

The Gold Coast SUNS are building a reputation as the most exciting football club in Australia. Strong values and a culture of success both on and off the field are central to achieving this goal.

The journey is only just beginning.

The Gold Coast Football Club is one of two AFL clubs playing in Queensland with the other being Brisbane Football Club.